Welcome to the first installment of “I Made it So You Don’t Have To” where, every week, I will make a new recipe and let you know exactly what to do and what to avoid.
TikTok is the new cookbook of our generation. My saved album consists exclusively of recipes that food influencers make that are worth a try. I figured that if these folks spend the time and energy to try and broadcast their recipes, I should try them out as well. Plus, TikTok is perfectly free, whereas many cookbooks—sadly—are not. This will hit home for many fellow college students who are trying to save money, while still enjoying the comfort of a well-made meal you do not need to go home for.
For the first recipe, I decided to make something that was comfortable and utilized easy techniques that will make you look like a pro in the kitchen. I will give a shoutout to the TikToker “@cookingwithnoa,” who gave us this wonderful recipe, which I hope I did justice.
As you can see, the pictures are not super similar; however, despite missing an ingredient, I made do. I began with a typical sauté pan and started it off on low heat so, when you are done prepping the chicken, the pan will be hot.
Prep the chicken by first washing it and, if using chicken breasts, butterflying them. This means cutting the chicken breasts in half like a hot dog bun, leaving one side attached and opening it up, so the chicken is not as thick. Add the salt, pepper, paprika and half of the thyme to a bowl and mix. This is the “rub.” Add your rub to the chicken on each side. Once the pan is hotter, turn it up to medium-high heat (around notch six-seven), add olive oil and throw your chicken in. Cook until golden brown on both sides. If you are afraid of undercooking the chicken, cut a piece in half to see if it is cooked on the inside.
Once it is done, put the chicken and its juice on a plate or a bowl and cover it so it does not lose its heat. I wanted to improvise a bit, so I added a splash (less than one-fourth cup) of white wine to deglaze the pan, which means picking up burnt bits stuck to the pan from the chicken that hold lots of flavor. Turn the heat down to medium once the alcohol boils out and then add chopped mushrooms, onion and garlic for five minutes while monitoring so it does not burn. Once these are all moderately cooked, add the orzo and toast for one minute while stirring. I thought it was weird to add to a pan without any liquid in it, but the toasting actually contributes to the depth of flavor.
Once this is done, add one-half cup at a time of chicken stock and stir on medium heat. Every time the chicken stock evaporates, make sure to add more. It is imperative that stirring is continuously done throughout. Do this until you get two cups of chicken stock. Taste the orzo to make sure it is moderately soft and not crunchy. If it is still hard, add more stock and repeat the steps until the desired softness is reached. Now, add the juice and the chicken from earlier to the pan along with butter, parmesan, parsley, lemon and the rest of the thyme. Stir for five minutes and then let sit until serving.
This recipe took me about one hour, but it was certainly worth it. I think the mushrooms check vegetables off the list nicely and it comfortably makes two to three portions. Perfect for your Sunday meal-prep, for leftovers or even for trying to impress a date with your cooking skills.
Ingredients:
One-half tbsp of olive oil
500 g / 1.1 lbs. of chicken (I used thighs)
One-half tsp of paprika
One tbsp of butter
One small onion, diced
Two cloves of garlic or one tsp of garlic powder
One cup of orzo
Two cups of chicken stock (to be added slowly)
Zest and juice of one small lemon
One-half tsp of dried thyme
One-half tsp of salt
One-half tsp of pepper
One-half cup of light cream or one-fourth cup of parmesan
Finely chopped parsley to taste
Eight ounces / 227 grams of baby Bella mushrooms
Cost: $56.17 (note that this includes every ingredient that may already be in your pantry such as salt and pepper)
Rating: 4.25/5
such a good recipe!
Yumm yumm so good
Great stuff